saṅkhittena ovādaṁ yācasī” ti.
ask for advice in brief?” The commentary says the Buddha speaks like this both to reproach Māluṅkyaputta, and to encourage him, for while on the one hand he had been heedless during his youth, here he was in his old age dwelling in the wilderness and asking for a meditation subject.01

The Instruction The instruction given here is identical to that given to Bahiya in the Udāna (Ud 1. 10). The latter, who immediately understood the teaching, and put it into practice, attained to Arahantship then and there. Note that some of the notes given here are drawn from the Udāna commentary.02

“Ettha ca te Māluṅkyaputta,
“Now here for you, Māluṅkyaputta,

diṭṭhasutamutaviññātabbesu dhammesu
in regard to things that are seen, heard, sensed, or cognized,

diṭṭhe diṭṭhamattaṁ bhavissati,
in what is seen there must be only what is seen,

sute sutamattaṁ bhavissati,
in what is heard there must be only what is heard,

mute mutamattaṁ bhavissati,
in what is sensed there must be only what is sensed,

viññāte viññātamattaṁ bhavissati.
in what is cognized there must be only what is cognized. Commentary: Just as when a form comes into focus eye consciousness is not excited (not impassioned), not tainted, not deluded, so, being devoid of passion etc., in regard to the measure of eye consciousness there must be no impulsion.

Translator: Ethically impulsion (javana) is the most important stage in the cognitive series, because it is in the seven mind moments that are termed javana that wholesome and unwholesome volition takes place, and kamma is made. According to the instruction given here the cognitive process should be checked by mindfulness before it reaches the javana stage.03

The Result

Yato kho te Māluṅkyaputta
And since for you, Māluṅkyaputta,

diṭṭhasutamutaviññātabbesu dhammesu
in regard to things that are seen, heard, sensed, or cognized,

diṭṭhe diṭṭhamattaṁ bhavissati,
in what is seen there will be only what is seen,

sute sutamattaṁ bhavissati,
in what is heard there will be only what is heard,

mute mutamattaṁ bhavissati,
in what is sensed there will be only what is sensed,

viññāte viññātamattaṁ bhavissati,
in what is cognized there will be only what is cognized,

tato tvaṁ Māluṅkyaputta na tena,
therefore, Māluṅkyaputta, you will not be with that,

yato tvaṁ māluṅkaputta na tena,
and since, Māluṅkyaputta, you will not be with that,

tato tvaṁ Māluṅkyaputta na tattha,
therefore, Māluṅkyaputta, you will not be in that,

yato tvaṁ Māluṅkyaputta na tattha,
and since, Māluṅkyaputta, you will not be in that, Udāna commentary: ...since you will not be excited with passion, tainted with hate, or confused with delusion...therefore you will not be in that which is seen etc. Or, you will not be adhering to, or established on, that which is seen, heard, (sensed), or cognized by way of craving, conceit, or views, thinking: ‘this is mine, this I am, this is my self’...04

tato tvaṁ Māluṅkyaputta nevidha na huraṁ na ubhayamantarena
therefore, Māluṅkyaputta, you will not be here or hereafter or in between the two The commentary to the Udāna is at pains to point out that in the Abhidhamma (and the tradition it embodies) there is no intermediate becoming ‘between the two’, but that what is meant here is either ‘you will not be here or hereafter or in both’ - which seems a bit strained - or, ‘you will not be here or hereafter, and nor is there anywhere in between the two.’05

These 12 verse are also found as Māluṅkyaputta's verses in Theragāthāpāḷi 794-817 (with minor variations). The metre is Vatta, but the 2nd line of the first 6 verses is in Tuṭṭhubha metre (with a short 8th syllable). These verses nicely illustrate some of the changes that can occur in words and word forms because of the need to meet the requirements of the metre.

The first is that unusual forms sometimes appear (examples draw upon the commentary to Theragāthā): ghātvā = ghayitvā, phussa = phusitvā. Secondly, cognate forms occasionally occur: ñatvā = vijānitvā, where ñatvā, absolutive to jānāti, with the normal meaning of ‘having known’, is being used in place of vijānitvā, which has the meaning ‘having cognized’. Thirdly, an altogether different word may be introduced: bhotvā = sayitvā, where the absolutive from bhuñjati (to eat, to enjoy), itself an unusual form, is being made equivalent to sayitvā, ‘having tasted’. Needless to say, great care must be taken when translating verse to take these factors into consideration.

Imassa khohaṁ bhante Bhagavatā saṅkhittena bhāsitassa
“Of this, reverend Sir, that was spoken in brief by the Gracious One

evaṁ vitthārena atthaṁ ājānāmi.
thus do I understand the meaning in detail:

Rūpaṁ disvā sati muṭṭhā,
Having seen a form and forgotten mindfulness,

Piyaṁ nimittaṁ manasī karoto,
Applying the mind to an object held dear,

Tassa vaḍḍhanti vedanā ~ anekā rūpasambhavā,
So for him increase various feelings that originate with form,

Abhijjhā ca vihesā ca ~ cittam-assūpahaññati -
And by covetousness and by violence is his mind destroyed -

Evaṁ ācinato dukkhaṁ ~ ārā nibbānaṁ vuccati.
For one heaping up suffering like this nibbāna is said to be far away. These verses bring out very clearly the crucial finction that mindfulness (sati) plays in meditation practice, and in particular its relation to restraint (saṁvara), one of the four right endeavours. Someone who is un-mindful, or who for the moment forgets to be mindful, is liable to fall prey to all sorts of proliferation (papañca), which can very quickly end up in giving an opening to one of the unwholesome roots (akusalamūla) of lust (lobha), hate (dosa), or delusion (moha). It is for this reason that mindfulness, which when properly understood and applied, protects the aspirant from these roots, is regarded as basic to the practice of meditation.07

Evaṁ apacinato dukkhaṁ ~ santike nibbānaṁ vuccati.
For one reducing suffering like this nibbāna is said to be near. This and the following verse show how important it is to maintain a balanced and objective state of mind if one wishes to establish mindfulness. One who is initially dispassionate in regard to sensory contact can easily attend to mindfulness. In that case there is simply the feeling (vedanā), but it doesn't lead to craving (taṇhā), and so the arising of the whole mass of suffering as outlined in conditional arising (paṭiccasamuppāda) is terminated at this point.08

Na so rajjati saddesu, ~ saddaṁ sutvā patissato,
Not being excited by sounds, having heard a sound he is mindful,

Virattacitto vedeti tañ-ca, ~ nājjhosāya tiṭṭhati:
He feels (it) with an unexcited mind, and does not persist in indulging it:

Yathāssa suṇato saddaṁ ~ sevato cāpi vedanaṁ.
For he who hears a sound and experiences the feeling in this way,